Querencia
by onceuponadutchgirl
Summary: querencia: (n.) a plance where one feels safe, a place from which one's strength of character is drawn. one-shot of slibbs! based on a DM conversation I had with Celeste (thanks girl for the idea).


**One-shot of my slibbs babies!**

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''I feel alone..''

Their session had been interrupted by a phone call and though Grace didn't mention who called, she knew it was Gibbs. Jack has walls built around her and lately Gibbs had been the one to reach out and tear them slowly down. Finally, she had allowed herself to be open and vulnerable towards someone other than Leon. He had even told her something he hadn't told anyone else.

He felt safe.

She could be herself around him. She could tell him everything that happened in her life, and he still wouldn't turn his back on her. Or so she thought.

Right now, she wasn't so sure anymore. The last time she saw him, he had been distant. She wondered if he regretted telling her or if he had finally realized the broken mess that was Jack Sloane.

She knew he had lost his daughter which is why she never told him about Faith. He would do anything for a second chance with his daughter, just one more moment, and she had given hers up.

Now, Jack sat in her office, a tear streaming down her face as she remembered the look in Faith's eyes. Betrayl. Another tear escaped as she thought of how she did it to protect her. And how much their relationship was shattered by her. She had so much to say, so much to tell her daughter. If only she got the chance. Truth be told, she regrets her actions deeply. She got caught up in her own pain, and the cost of it was Faith. Her only child.

All that's left is a broken Jack Sloane. Maybe all she ever wanted was to have a family. To grow up showered with love, with a mother that loves her and to protect her from evil. Maybe it was what she wanted to have. A perfect childhood.

But she never got that chance and it left a gaping hole in her heart that refused to close. Giving up her daughter just tore her heart apart, it magnified the hurt.

And she felt... thoroughly alone. She needed someone, she was fragile and she was vulnerable.

She was weak.

But she couldn't tell anyone.

Jack messed up and she should have known.

Gibbs was perfect in every way, she tried so hard to love him and she let him slip away.

A thick cloud of guilt and anger settled over her mind. The anger faded away quickly- she was exhausted. All the losses and all the setbacks- yet the guilt consumed her.

She tried to breathe, tried to regain composure.

She noticed Gibbs walking into the room. Their eyes lock but they don't say anything. Silence surrounds them- just the sound of breathing letting them know that they're both still here. After a long moment of this, Gibbs opened his mouth. She glanced at him briefly and studied his face. He wasn't angry. If anything, he looked worried. She felt her breathing slowing down and turned to stare at something in the distance only she seemed to be able to see. He was the one who finally spoke first.

"Can we talk?" And then he stoped abruptly because he doesn't seem sure about what to say.

She let out a relieved sigh. She could see the emotion in Gibbs' eyes. The tears, the sadness, the relief.

When she was little, she had understood that people could and would get hurt, but she hadn't understood why.

Sometimes, it doesn't matter.

And sometimes it does.

"I'm sorry."

At first, she was surprised he apologized. She hadn't let him know she felt hurt by his distant attitude but then again he had somehow always been able to read her like an open book. He had known she was an agent the moment she came through his door, he knew something was going on when she ran into Hakim and he had known she was upset during the case with her daughter.

She looked across the room, finding her voice to speak. "Don't be."

"You're hurting." Gibbs' voice trembled and trailed off, the whispered words almost inaudible. He couldn't stand seeing her with tears in her eyes and a hurt expression.

"I'm fine." She told him. She kept staring into his bright, blue eyes. Suddenly, she was no longer facing her collegue but rather an ordinary man.

A man with love in his eyes.

He stepped closer to the couch and her mind flashed back to when he held her close on Christmas. She could still vividly recall the soft kiss he had planted on her forehead. If it hadn't been for Ellie and Nick nearby, she would have looked up. She would have met his lips with hers.

Whatever emotions might or might not exist between them,

At that time, being in his arms felt right.

She couldn't help but smile as she remembered that night, this one filler and pure and her eyes spsarkling as she did. Gibbs found himself amazed by it.

He took another tentative step towards where she was sitting and lowered himself next to her so his arms could circle around her form.

Though she was far from being 'fine', she let herself relax in his embrace for a little while.

He was holder her as tightly as he could and she let him. It felt nice to lean on someone for once, to not be strong and just let her guard down a little.

"You know I'm always here for you, right?" He whispered.

She felt his arms wrapping tighter around her body and her head was nestled on his shoulder. Her mind returned to the past few months. Their relationship was complicated.

Yet so simple.

Finally, she looked up and their eyes met. Inching forwards, she closed the distance between their lips and her hand moved to the side of his face. He allowed for his lips to brush against hers and kissed back.

They had things to talk about, but they were closer than they were yesterday and for now that was enough. Taking a deep breath in, she closed her eyes and just enjoyed the moment. They're no longer two colleagues.

For now, they could just be together.


End file.
